Forget what self-appointed experts might tell you or what political bureaucrats might suggest either. Just cast a quick look for yourself at the Middle East North Africa (MENA) map today, says regional expert and Ekklesia associate Dr Harry Hagopian. The inescapable conclusion – the revealing truth, if you will – is that things are not going well at all. In fact, things are quite messy – and perilously so too.

We should turn the crisis over into an opportunity, writes regional analyst and Ekklesia associate Dr Harry Hagopian. With Russia on a back foot and Syria clearly anxious about the Western reaction, is it not possible to coerce the Syrian regime to sit at the negotiating table for a Geneva II style of negotiations that could usher in the transitional period. Do we not owe it to the people of Syria to try it, he asks?